Volume 14
Collector’s Magazine Plus Antique Shops, Malls & Show Directory
Streetcar Advertising in America Passion for Collecting Toy Trains Through the Years Bottled Beauties Collecting Pinup Travel Decals
Collector’s Magazine - Written by Collectors for Collectors
STREETCAR ADVERTISING IN AMERICA Streetcar Advertising had a huge impact on the products and brands we enjoy today. The emergence of “Modern America” is said to have occurred between 1890 and 1930. During this time, the U.S. population doubled and a great migration from rural America to the cities took place in search of factory jobs and better employment opportunities. By 1895 almost 900 electric street railways and nearly 11,000 miles of track had been built in the United States; streetcars would become the dominant means of transportation in all of the major U.S. cities. Streetcar advertising had its beginning in the 1850’s to 1870’s. Pictured below is an 1890’s era electric streetcar with advertising cards in Memphis, TN.
Streetcar advertising would play a dominant role in establishing numerous national and regional consumer brands in the early 1900’s. Early advertising was somewhat limited to weekly or daily black and white newspapers, monthly magazines and billboards. Advertisers soon learned that streetcar advertising offered them some distinct advantages over most forms of advertising. They had a captive audience who had little else to do while riding the streetcar every day to and from work, shopping, etc. The reader did not have to be a subscriber to view the ads and the ads were usually always presented in full color to attract attention. Also, all advertisers (large or small) had the same 11” x 21” advertising space with which to communicate their message! A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words … I am sure you have heard the expression “A picture is worth a thousand words” but you probably did not realize this phrase had its origin in Streetcar Advertising.
Photo courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library & Information Center
At about this same time, the Industrial Revolution was beginning to take form. Historically, there had been literally 100’s of product brands available with very little to differentiate one brand from another…
A good streetcar advertisement usually consisted of three key design elements: 1. Text/Copy 2. Illustration/Photo 3. Color The merits of streetcar advertising can be summed up in this message:
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STREETCAR ADVERTISING IN AMERICA Barron G. Collier - Father of Streetcar Advertising Barron Gift Collier was born in Memphis, Tennessee on March 23, 1873. He created the largest streetcar advertising empire in the world and was a millionaire by age 26; at one time he had business offices in 70 cities and various business interests in more than a thousand cities. Barron Collier went on to acquire over 1.3 million acres of land in southwest Florida in the early 1900’s; in fact, he was responsible for completing the highway between Tampa and Florida among his many notable accomplishments. Streetcar Map Showing Coverage
Here is a 1905 Streetcar Map showing the coverage of Collier’s dynasty. By the time of World War I in 1917, the street railway industry was the fifth largest industry in the United States, employing well over 100,000 people nationwide. By 1918, the U.S. had over 50,000 cars displaying advertising cards in nearly 3,000 cities and towns in every state of the Union. By 1927- 1928, there were over 40 million streetcar riders a day in the U.S. Streetcar cards were usually displayed in the cars for a period of 30 days and then simply scrapped or discarded after use. A lucky few cards ended up in someone’s attic or basement, nailed to the walls, used as insulation in early homes, and even used to level linoleum floors in kitchens.
Many of the streetcar cards you see on the following pages were not acquired in perfect condition; they were photographed and their digital images have been restored to their original condition.
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STREETCAR ADVERTISING IN AMERICA These cards represent a variety of products and industries … most notably food, beverage, soap/laundry, health/beauty, clothing/shoes, information/communication, tobacco, etc. Here are some examples:
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STREETCAR ADVERTISING IN AMERICA
The demise of the streetcar industry led to the demise of the streetcar advertising! The streetcar industry peaked in 1920 with streetcar ridership reaching 13.8 billion riders then declined to 11.8 billion during the pre-depression 1929 era. In 1914, 100% of all U.S. cities relied on streetcars; in 1937, 50% of the cities had buses only. In addition, automobile ownership grew rapidly from 8.1 million vehicles in 1920 to 23.1 million vehicles in 1929. By the 1940’s, the streetcar railway industry had declined to the point where they could be found only in very large cities. Are you interested in more information on Streetcar Advertising? Antique Back Roads would like to thank to Woodson Savage, writer of this article. He is also the author of the book Streetcar Advertising in America. The full story of streetcar advertising is depicted through over 150 fully restored, color streetcar advertising cards that represent a diverse cross-section of consumer companies, brands and products that were available almost 100 years ago. One of the amazing takeaways from this book is that the majority of the brands (and many of the products and even some of the companies) featured in this book are still in existence and are among the leading consumer brands that we still enjoy today. Find out why and how these products and brands have stood the test of time. See how, that in spite of today’s technological advances, the basic principles of creating and delivering good advertising have not changed that much over the past 100 years! Learn more about the life of Barron Collier and the role that advertising has played in making America.
And remember … A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words!
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PASSION FOR COLLECTING – COLLECTOR’S CORNER My collecting hobby began with collecting apothecary show jars or “candy jars” as some call them. That led to “go withs” for the show jars and encompassed both country store and drug store items, mainly focusing on display boxes full of product. Ultimately that in turn led to posters and signs, with emphasis on posters that have women and or children on them with the product advertised as well. I still have a great interest in the display boxes of N.O.S. products and of course the signs and posters advertising the products of the early 20th century. I try hard to keep my collection in the pre 1930 age range, although great graphics from a later time still catch my attention. I have a country store/ drug store in my home to house the collection. I do not sell out of it, and it is just for enjoyment and display to friends and interested fellow collectors. It is housed in a large room over the garage, and has rapidly filled the available space beyond what I ever expected when I started many years ago. Almost all the posters and some signs hang on the walls of my home as well as the hallway leading up to and including the store itself. Space to display them now has become an issue in addition to less and less being found in the usual hunting grounds. I do belong to AAAA and plan on attending their annual convention each year in hopes of snagging one or two great posters or signs. I would say my passion for the most part is still in finding full N.O.S display boxes full of pro duct and great early litho posters as mentioned above. I don’t think I will ever quit loving them. I am very fortunate to belong to the Tulsa Antique Advertising and
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PASSION FOR COLLECTING – COLLECTOR’S CORNER Bottle Club of Tulsa, which puts on a great bottle and advertising show each year in Tulsa, Oklahoma and which has become one of the best advertising shows in the Midwest. It is held every year the weekend following father’s day in June, and I am proud of the great show my friends in the club have worked so hard to develop. It is one of the best shows around this area for me to find great advertising pieces locally.
I enjoy my posters and signs every day as I see them on the wall of my home. That is a real pleasure. Hope you enjoyed seeing my collection, Dale
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TOY TR AINS THROUGH THE YEARS Many books have been written about toy trains, but I will confine my article to the most popular O Gauge which measure 1 1/4” between the inside of the rails. Other gauges include the smaller HO and S (American Flyer), and the larger Number 1 and 2, Standard and G (Garden or Grubbe). Toy trains were developed in the U.S. back before the Civil War by George Brown. They were windup clockwork as electricity was many decades ahead. In Germany, Marklin became the first company to make toy trains with actual tracks. Their early 20th century trains and accessories are some of the best quality ever made and often sell well into the five figures.
In 1946, Lionel introduced smoke for the steam engines. By the early 1950s, Lionel was at its peak, but television started to grab everyone’s interests.
Lionel Trainmaster Transformer
The 1960s were a period of social changes in America and interest in toy trains was dying. Cowen died in 1965 and the company filed for bankruptcy in 1967. By 1973, the company became part of the General Mills Fun Group. Lionel Box with Caboose from 1946
Lionel Trains, the most popular of all makers, started in 1901 by Joshua Lionel Cowen. In 1915, he introduced the O Gauge and set the standard for electric train sets as more and more homes had electricity. The decade from 1910 - 1919 was a booming growth time for Lionel. In 1926, he bought Ives Trains, an excellent toy train manufacturer that came with the reversing unit that allowed trains to change direction. The company suffered during the depression in the 1930s but came back strong after WWII. The pre WWII locomotives are still highly desirable and hard to find in very good condition.
Lionel Gulf Tank Car and Louisville & Nashville Searchlight car
Lionel 225E with 2235T pre War 2-6-2 steam locomotive and tender Lionel Southern Bulkhead Flatcar
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TOY TR AINS THROUGH THE YEARS
Pennsylvania WRL Locomotive running with light.
Model trains have maintained their prices well over the past 10 - 15 years in comparison to some of the pressed steel and windup toys that have gone down in value. Auctions are always a great place to find trains. I always check the condition of the trains, especially the locomotives. Look for any wear and tear on the sides, broken parts such as wheels and lights, and make sure that all the parts are there. I always check out the engines on my own track and transformers when I get home. In the past 5 years, I only bought 2 or 3 engines that did not run well. Some of the rolling stock can be quite expensive and Lionel made some outstanding accessories such as the coal loader, automatic gateman, icing station, and light up stations.
In 1985, General Mills sold Lionel off to Kenner Toys and a year later, Richard Kughn of Detroit bought Lionel Trains. In 1992, Neil Young bought into the company and helped rejuvenate the line with the Trainmaster Control system. Kughn sold out in 1995. In 2006, Lionel bought K-Line and started manufacturing their trains. The company moved its headquarters to Concord, NC. Some Terminology: Box Car - an enclosed railroad car that carried commodities Couplers - hardware that joins the cars of a train Flat Car - a freight car that is not enclosed Gauge - the distance between the rails Reefer - a refrigerator car Rolling Stock - freight, passenger, or maintenance cars Identifying Lionel trains, e.g. 2-6-4 means that the locomotive has one axle and 2 wheels up front, 6 wheels on 3 axles that drive the engine, and 4 wheels on 2 axles that support the firebox. Of course there are other fine trains that can be bought in today’s auctions and online, including Marx, American Flyer, MTH, and K-Line. Personally, I really enjoy the post WWII models as they as rugged and well built, and if taken care of, will last a long time. Some of the modern locomotives by Lionel and MTH can be found for over $1000 and they are very well made and realistic.
Lionel Commemorative Rolling Stock #9431
The thing I like best about buying and selling toy trains is that is does remind me of the many hours that I spent back in the 1950s and 1960s playing with my Lionel and American Flyer trains. Fresh in my memory is the joy of making new layouts for my trains or going with my mother (usually) to the local department store. I would buy a new accessory for my Lionel 225E with 2235T pre War 2-6-2 steam locomotive to enjoy on those long winter nights in Montreal. Of course we did not have computers and TV started in the late afternoon. You really had to use your imagination back then. For more information, check out the Train Collectors Association. His listings maybe found at: www.icollect247.com By Steve Soltan, S & S Antiques
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BOTTLED BEAUTIES – MY PERFUME BOTTLE PASSION – PART I Ancient history teaches us that the female of the species has adorned herself with intricately designed jewelry and fragrant perfumes for thousands of years. And while ancient perfume bottles lacked ancient jewelry’s sophistication of design, eventually that same detail worked its way into the design and construction of perfume bottles in more contemporary times. Mini Lalique Replicas. Originals can command four-five figures
Four scents set by Lancome
Fueled by the advent of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements, perfume bottles finally reached their pinnacle of design, and it is this period of about 1925-1950 that I find the art of the bottle so very attractive, and, so did the ladies. The provocative perfume bottle provokes her pricey purchase, and while she is drawn to the art of the bottle, we are drawn to this fragrant female.
A pyramid of Patou Scents “Moment Supreme” and “Armour, Armour” by Jean Patou Above Jean Desprez factory sealed presentation
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Collecting Continues to be a Link to the Past
BOTTLED BEAUTIES – MY PERFUME BOTTLE PASSION – PART I From the earliest crude, corked containers to the finely machined ground glass stoppers, the stoppers were often the crowning glory, the pinnacle of the bottle design. The simplicity of early perfume bottle design was commensurate with its contents; simple, natural aromatic plant extracts. As the bottles evolved so did the contents. From distilled aromatic flower essences to synthetic aroma chemicals derived from Petroleum, Perfumes lost their innocence in construction and contents as Petroleum prevailed.
Rare pyramidal ensemble of Christian Dior beauties. Reminiscent of Grecian Urns
Pretty perfumes all in a row.
Coty & Corday NOS factory sealed presentations.
Left - Scent “Surrender” by Ciro. Right – Scent “Dachelle” by Lilly Dache
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BOTTLED BEAUTIES – MY PERFUME BOTTLE PASSION – PART I The intent of this article is not to delve deeply into the history of perfume, but to offer a brief introduction and a rather extensive photographic feast of commercial perfume bottles circa 1925-1950 which are representative of that glorious design period. Article by Chuck Friedman
“Promise her anything, but give her Arpege” by Jeanne Lanvin
The unmistakable crown bottle by Prince Matchabelli
Pacquin on package pedestals
More great pictures to come in Part II – next volume! Mary Dunhill with refill funnel
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Collecting Continues to be a Link to the Past
A PASSION FOR RESTOR ATION
REPRODUCTION ALERT !
Image your kid runs into the house and all of a sudden you hear a crash. You run to see grandmother’s porcelain bowl lying on the floor with little Johnny sitting there trying to put the pieces back together. Not long ago, I got one of those calls…an antique 19th century large statue had been knocked down by a family dog. The piece was a family treasure and they were devastated seeing it in pieces after it had survived several generations.
If you shop on line, at auctions, at antique shops/ malls or at shows you may stop and think “How old is this…is it a reproduction?” You are not alone, even the most experienced of collectors and dealers ask that same question as they shop. Many reproductions are made to look like the original and are cheaper made and a different size than the original. They are easy to spot and they are purchased to decorate with and put outside your home. Lots of folks enjoy these. However, the problem comes when these pieces are reproduced to look like the original, aged to look old and made to deceive. With popularity, the prices rise and then the number of reproductions go up. This has been seen in every collecting category including glassware, cast iron, banks and currently in signs and the gas /oil category. Unfortunately, in the past, it has evidentially killed the market for that category. Some categories including cast iron banks are coming back slowly. As mentioned, it seems that advertising signs are the most reproduced at the present time. Some quick tips:
After restored, the piece shows no signs of restoration. The family was so thrilled to receive their bronze status back as it was originally. They promised to display the beautiful bronze piece in a much safer place, out of the reach of the dog. This is just one of the many stories I hear as people call about their broken antique porcelain, pottery, marble, bronze, ivory, objects made of bone and damaged paintings. With 20 years of experience, I have seen it all. For two decades, I have been working as a Decorative Art restorer in the Great Seattle area in Washington. Restoration is not work for me, I love what I do and I live to help collectors restore their damaged pieces. There are always new materials coming on the market for restoration as well as new techniques. I often get ask how long will it take me to restore an item. Each piece is special and it depends on damage, cost of the materials and how much cleaning and retouching is required. Quotes are always given before I start the restoration. Please feel free to contact me with questions. Laszlo Jajczay - Seattle Decorative Art 206-3130990 info@seattleantiquerestoration.com
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Check the back and the weight of a sign. Old metal signs were made of steel and will rust. Newer metal signs are made of baked on enamel aluminum. Letters are not perfect and spacing not exact with a reproduction. Look close as there will be some errors or minor irregularities. Check for manufacture mark and date. Signs that have AAA Sign Co and Desperate Sign Co are new. Is the front of the sign dull while the back nice and shiny. Steel wool is being used to take off the “new” shine. Are rust stains orange-red color and around the mounting holes – if so these signs have been aged to look old. An old sign will show layers of porcelain in a chip. On old porcelain, feel the layers (shelving), new silk screened signs are flat.
Currently there are signs coming into the US from India and some from Australia. In short, shop and learn before you buy. Also, buy from a quality seller or dealer who knows what they are selling and will guarantee what they are selling is old. Quality Sellers on icollect247.com
Over 20,000 “Real” Vintage for sale on www.icollect247.com
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COLLECTING PINUP TR AVEL DECALS It is always interesting to remember what triggered a collecting interest. Mine began in 1954 when my family took a road trip from Burbank, California to Frankfort, Kentucky to visit my grandparents. As a family, we made that trip every summer from 1954 to 1959 when we finally moved to Kentucky permanently. Much of our road trip was on Route 66 and with 4 kids in the car we made frequent stops at gas stations, (my mother insisted that we stop only at ones that had a “clean restrooms” sign out front), diners for lunch and always an early stop for the night at a motel. It seemed at every stop there was a small gift shop and in every gift shop there was a rack of travel decals for sale for 10 to 15 cents. I guess it was natural for a teenage boy to be attracted to the beautiful pinup decals and I began adding them to my collection each year as we traveled. Fortunately my parents didn’t want me putting them on the windows of the car so they survived over the years and unlike my baseball cards, they didn’t get thrown out. Over the years they were stored away nicely as my life was filled with school and grown up things. In 1991, I picked up a copy of Coast to Coast, The Best of Travel Decal Art by Rod Dyer & Brad Benedict. Each page brought back a flood of memories of those road trips and the travel decals I collected. With this renewed interest I got my decals out of their resting place and began determining what I had and what I would need to complete my collection. I quickly determined that there were 5 sets I wanted to collect. Here are the great series. MISS AMERICA SERIES Back of each decal states “Miss America Series* State Beauties in Typical Poses” with application instructions and a reorder # such as MD-435.
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This beautiful set begins with Alabama #MD-419 and ends with Wyoming #MD466. In addition I have found one very rare decal marked as a Miss America Series for the Indianapolis 500 with reorder #MD-573. I am missing 4 decals from completing my Miss America set: #1 Miss Connecticut (#MD-424) #2 Miss Delaware (#MD-425) #3 Miss New Hampshire (#MD445) and #4 Miss Rhode Island (#MD-455). WILLIAM E. NOBLE SERIES This set of pinup decals is equally as nice as the MD series. It also contains a picture of the state pinup along with a cute phrase. The series starts with Alabama and ends with Wyoming. Back of each decal is a reorder #beginning with WN-7221 for Alabama ARMED SERVICE MORAL BUILDERS This is a very rare set of pinup decals depicting various pinups in GI related poses. Among the decals are: Flying High, G.I. Bundle, Fleets In and Semper Fidelis. Each of the Armed Service Builders decals had on the back “Armed Services Moral Builders” along with instructions
Collecting Continues to be a Link to the Past
COLLECTING PINUP TR AVEL DECALS for applying as well as a reorder #. The reorder # for Semper Fidelis is #MD-589. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL CUTIES This is also a very rare set of pinup decals depicting the major league baseball teams of the time. Each decal shows a pinup in a baseball uniform with the name of the team she represents. Back of decal is (“Major League Baseball Cuties” and after the instructions for applying there is a reorder #. Boston is reorder #MD-7201) There are 16 decals in this set.
GLAMOUR GIRL SERIES This is by far the largest set of pinup decals. There are really 3 different categories for these decals. The first category contains road signs with beautiful pinup girls. The first one says “Danger Curves Ahead” and has a picture of a pinup girl. Each decal on the reverse says “Glamour Girl Series” and after application instructions, reorder # for this decal is MD-7000. There are 12 decals in this subset. The second subset is a series of Glamour Girl decals that each pictures a pinup with a suggestive pose and comment. The first in this series if Girth Control. On the reverse side is “Glamour Girl Series” and after application instructions is reorder #Girth Control is MD-7025. There are 12 decals in this subset. The third subset consists of only 6 decals and each features a pinup and the name of an adult beverage. Hot Toddy is an example. The back says (“Glamour Girl Series”) with application instructions and reorder # - “Hot Toddy is reorder #MD- 7050.
Finally there is a Western subset consisting of 9 decals. Each of these decals has a Western theme such as the Go West Young Man decal. Again, on the reverse side is “Glamour Girls Series” and application instructions and reorder # The Go West decal is #MD7155. Lindgren-Turner and others produced some wonderful pinup decals but the Miss America Series, William E. Noble, Moral Builders, Baseball Cuties and Glamour Girls decals are easy for collectors to identify and list because of the reorder numbers. These are fun to collect and perhaps you too, will have memories of them. Bill Stone Ston4100@bellsouth.net
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Collecting Continues to be a Link to the Past
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